You’ve heard the name before. It’s the Tesla competitor that made headlines with its $35,000 Tesla Model 3. The affordable electric car has been the focus of many Tesla critics. And while the company is still working to ramp up production, it’s safe to say that the Tesla Model 3 is one of the biggest competitors to the electric car industry today.
General Motors
If you’re not familiar with the names, there’s a good reason. Tesla is the only automaker who’s made headlines for developing and selling a high quality electric car. While the Tesla line of vehicles is what first got many electric cars on the roads, a few other electric car brands have come onto the scene over the years.
Ford
When it comes to electric car competition, you won’t find a better competitor for Tesla than Nissan. For the last few years they’ve been releasing a series of new all-electric vehicles. This includes the Leaf, the most affordable mass-market electric car available today. They also have the highly-capable all-electric SUV, the new Leaf E, and the all-electric pickup truck, the new Frontier. In addition, they have the high-end all-electric crossover, the new Murano.
Volkswagen
The Tesla is the best-selling electric car in the U.S. right now. With the success of Tesla’s brand and its high-performance vehicles, the biggest competitor to the electric car pioneer is the Toyota Prius, one of the first affordable electric cars with an excellent fuel economy.
Nissan
Tesla is the undisputed leader in electric vehicles. While the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight are a close second and third, the competition is not as steep as you might expect. Just as Tesla pioneered the electric car market, Toyota and Honda made the first mass-market hybrids. They were the first to sell affordable electric vehicles to the general public.
BMW
The Tesla Model S is the most successful electric car to date, and it’s not hard to see why. The car is luxurious, fast, safe, and offers state-of-the-art features. Tesla is also continuously improving and adding new technology to the car. However, with all these features, the car is also very expensive.
Mercedes-Benz
Toyota has had a bumpy ride when it comes to electric vehicles. The company's first foray into the market, the Prius, has consistently been the best-selling hybrid in the U.S. since its introduction in 1997, but it's not without some challenges. For example, the current model has a penchant for sudden, unintended acceleration, which is still being investigated. Plus, the company's hydrogen fuel cell technology faces safety and cost challenges. That said, Toyota continues to try to make a name for itself in the electric vehicle market. With Tesla's recent stock jump, Toyota could be looking to use some of its newfound capital to develop a compelling electric vehicle of its own.
Audi
Tesla is the most well-known and established electric car brand in the world today. In fact, the company has produced more than 50,000 electric cars and plans to produce more than one million by the end of 2020. Tesla has been making headlines ever since it started its operations in California in 2003. The company's founder, Elon Musk, has been a strong advocate of electric vehicles, and the company continues to develop new technologies to make electric cars safer, faster, and more affordable.
Conclusion
In the electric car segment, the biggest threat to Tesla is the legacy carmakers, the companies that have been building cars for decades and have built their brands on the idea of a car as a status symbol. These companies are slow to adapt to the new demands of the electric car market, and they are often focused on developing internal combustion engine technology, rather than moving into the new territory of battery-electric vehicles.
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